Regardless of England’s notoriously poor record in penalty shootouts, goalkeeper Joe Hart is keen to step up and take a kick for his country if needed, he has said.
Coach Roy Hodgson has had England practicing penalties in the run-up to their Euro 2012 quarterfinal against Italy in an attempt to turn around England’s run of exiting five major tournaments on penalties since 1990.
"If they let me, I'll put my name forward 100%," Hart said on the UEFA website Thursday.
"Hopefully it won't come to that. It's a lottery, but I'd back myself in a tournament."
Hart added that he felt confident that he and defender Joleon Lescott could keep their Manchester City teammate Mario Balotelli under control during the match.
The winner of the quarterfinal will face either Germany or Greece in the semifinal.
